Via Restaurant — Restaurant in Cluj Metropolitan Area

I booked a table at Via for a birthday dinner, expecting a pleasant and slightly more refined experience than what you'd get at lower-budget spots around the city. Sadly, it turned out to be quite underwhelming - especially disappointing for a birthday.

We were offered a table right away, and while the interior was simple and tasteful, we noticed several tables hadn’t been cleaned or reset, despite the restaurant being completely empty. That already felt a bit off.

We ordered water, a lemonade, two duck breast dishes, and two desserts. Shortly after, an extra drink we didn’t order arrived, which was quickly taken back to the bar. About 20 minutes passed before the waiter came over to ask us to repeat our food order, saying there had been some kind of mix-up in the kitchen. Again, very weird given that we were the only clients at that moment. The mains finally arrived after about 45 minutes. The duck was beautifully cooked, with interesting flavours on the side, though the plating could have used a more creative touch.

Once we finished eating, another waiter came to take our plates and ask if we’d like dessert even though we’d already ordered it earlier - probably because he saw us waiting for quite some time. Ten minutes later, our original waiter returned and asked again what desserts we wanted, explaining that yet another mistake had happened in the back. With only two desserts on the menu, and everything clearly noted at the beginning, it felt surprisingly messy and unprofessional for a place that’s rated so highly.

The food itself was good, but nothing amazing and not close to any idea of fine dining. Considering the pricing and the disorganized service, it’s not a place I’d...

Subpar. Let's start with positives - ambience and decor are definitely highlights. The place looks and feels chic and being able to steal a glance of chefs working in the kitchen is a bonus. Service is ok and dish selection is adequate. There is a rotating selection of dishes on top of a la carte choices.

The problem then lies with the execution of the said dishes. Between three of us we've tried six dishes altogether and only three were truly up to scratch, one was mediocre and fatty (goulash), one slightly undercooked and merely acceptable (ravioli) and one - tripe Paprikasch - straight up abysmal. Not only was it served tepid, even after reheating it lacked in flavour and tripe was poorly rendered and dumplings were nowhere to be seen. Which is a massive shame as both cream of tomatos and mutton soup were flavourful, the former being served with a slice of green-pesto coated bruschetta and the latter boasting generous chunks of lean mutton.

However, given a relatively hefty price tag attached to the above-mentioned dishes, I would expect better and...

I heard only good things about this restaurant, so I need it to give it a try.Got a table through phone reservation, cute little terrace but not to much ambiance...no music/nature sound or anything the only ambiance what is made is from the other tables talking out loud their minds. Service was good, but could be improved by giving equall focus on all the customers and the feedback on their dish. Food was ok..not terrible but not amazing. My starter was a goat cheese mousse.I found the portion quite big for a starter also was not tasing that was freshly prepared. For main I had the mangalica(Hungarian breed pork) with Lyonnaise potatoes. The meat was a bit overcooked and the potatoes were soggy and wet,could eat only few. After we stayed also for dessert, which unfortunately was a big disappointment.Had the frozen parfait, was way to hard, even after 30minutes was not melting at all..couldn't eat it.Also again was not tasting that was prepared freshly,such as 1 day before hence..I would have told all this as a feedback to someone but nobody asked for it...